by Shania Tyler
He smiled. “You are my other half. That is all I need to know. Fate is not wrong.”
“Well, I think fate screwed me from the beginning, so I’m not really ready to trust it.”
He held her gaze and then said, “Very well.”
She stilled. Was he giving up on her? Was he going to leave her alone? Panic had her heart pounding in her ribs. She’d ruined it. She always ruined everything. She made people leave her with her words and her stubbornness. Why couldn’t she just trust him and trust what felt right?
He dropped his hand from her face, but she didn’t calm down until both of his hands took hers and he laced their fingers together. “We will simply have to get to know one another first so that you’ll be more comfortable.”
Her eyes trailed up his powerful build to his hard and handsome face, and she wondered how she’d ever gotten so lucky. He was way too gorgeous to be chasing a woman. She knew they must be throwing themselves at him. And his wealth had to make it all the worse. “There must be many women who want you.”
He shrugged. “But indulgences get dull after the first century of life or so. I only want you, Piper.” Then he leaned forward and stole a quick kiss.
The kiss wasn’t nearly long enough to satisfy her, and she realized then that satisfaction would only come in his bed.
He dropped one of her hands and they started to walk. “Will you meet me early night tomorrow? Before the funeral?”
“Yes,” she whispered.
He walked her to her room, kissed her again, touched her cheek, and then left her with a mind to forgive fate for its many previous wrongdoings to her if there really was any future for her and Theo.
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12
CHAPTER
TWELVE
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Theo found Maurice and Noel in the game room. Maurice was leaning over a pool table he’d brought from Earth. Noel, with his cue stick in hand, was leaning on a pub table, yet another thing Maurice had brought.
Actually, his friend had designed the entire room. There was a beer tap at the bar, large leather couches, and one sports activity after another. A foosball table was in one corner and a basketball net hung on one wall while a dartboard was on another. He’d put up brick wallpaper and the room looked like a bar on Earth except for the absence of televisions. Maurice had wanted to bring that as well, and hire some humans to see to its maintenance, but Theo wasn’t sure about bringing an object that had silver parts into his home.
Electricity carried best in silver, so electronics were banned through most of Asea, since everyone from vampires to elves and fairies was allergic to it.
He walked over to Maurice and said, “I want to know the name of every male substitute math teacher who taught Piper while she was in high school who was around thirty years of age.”
“Why?” Maurice asked.
“So I can kill him.” He’d had to keep his emotions at bay while speaking to Piper. He hadn’t wanted to frighten her out of sharing with him, but the moment he’d left her at her room, he’d let his fury out. The man had abused his power over his Piper and he would see to retribution.
“Done,” Maurice said as he turned back to the pool table. He didn’t need details. He never did. Maurice had lost his aversion to death long before Theo had met him.
Noel, however, did like answers. “What did the teacher do?”
“None of your business,” Theo said as he headed to the bar.
“That bad, huh?”
He’d just put a glass under the tap when he thought of Piper and stepped back from the tap and discarded the glass. He fell onto the couch and closed his eyes.
“How are you holding up?” Noel asked.
Theo crossed his arms. “Better than I thought I would. I know Berna didn’t go in her sleep as Isabella so eloquently said, but she was right. Berna was up in age. I’d been preparing for her passing, though I’d thought to have at least fifty more years with her.” Though he rarely saw her anymore. Guilt ate at him because lately they had not been as close as they’d been when he was growing up. But what could he do? Turn his back on the Rebels? Berna held a seat on the council, so it wasn’t like they could chat about their separate plans to destroy each other.
Not that Berna would have let Isabella touch a hair on his head. He’d known that. In spite of all the fighting, Berna protected him.
Now, he had no one on the council.
He couldn’t believe the Evaness’ suggestion that he leave his pava in exchange for the freedom of the elves. Mason had made a choice he wasn’t sure many would have made and he hadn’t even stopped to think about it first, to balance whether a life with Kelly could equal the lives of others.
But if Aymee’s interpretation of the prophecy was true, then the couple needed to unite and stand firm until the end.
He wondered who the other couples would be. He chuckled, thinking it of the possibility of it being Noel or Maurice. Noel could have any woman he wanted. It was his gift to charm ladies into doing what he pleased. He couldn’t see Noel content with never using his abilities again.
And Maurice…
He didn’t even want to go there. A woman would have to be cold of blood and hard of stomach to take being with Maurice. Killing was all he’d ever known and since being recruited by the Rebels, he’d only gotten better at it.
“Anyone else attending the funeral?” Noel asked.
“Yes,” Theo said. “I’ve already had more rooms prepared. My family will be coming in, Isabella said. Most likely they’ll be using the family door.”
“Including Ben?” Noel asked. “Mason isn’t going to like seeing him about.”
Theo sighed. “Ben is Berna’s son. There’s no way to avoid his presence, though I wish I could.” He’d never liked Ben and the feeling was mutual. While most kids, he imagined, enjoyed playing with their cousins, Theo had not.
A few months ago, during Kelly’s visit to Pria, Ben had tried to rape her. Mason had broken the man’s legs and would have proceeded to drop Ben into a pond and watch him drown if Kelly hadn’t stopped him. He wished she’d held her tongue now.
Noel said, “We’ll make sure someone is watching him at all times.”
Maurice said, “Now get over here and show Noel how to play this game. He sucks.”
Theo smiled and popped up from his seat, knowing exactly what Maurice was doing. He was distracting him from his problems and Theo was grateful.
* * *
Theo paced his suite’s sitting room and stopped when a knock sounded on the other side. His manservant opened the door and his breath caught at the sight of Piper. She smiled at him and it went straight to his heart. The maid who escorted her and the servant he’d had prepare her meal and open the door left together and closed the door behind them.
Theo crossed the room and took her in while he did. Her hair was down and she wore another black dress, but this one stopped at the knees. However, there was no red lipstick today. Her lips held no color besides their own natural pink hue. He had to restrain himself from kissing her when he finally made it to her side. Instead of his mouth, he offered his hand.
She took it and glanced around his room. “This is really nice.”
“I’m glad you like it.” But if she didn’t, she could change what she wanted when she was his wife. However, he kept that thought to himself. This morning was about them slowing down.
“Are you sure we should be doing this now?” Her brown eyes came up to gaze at him. “I know you’ve so much to deal with today.”
He knelt by her chair so that their eyes were leveled. “I need this.”
She touched his cheek. “Okay.” Then she kissed him on the nose and asked, “What’s for breakfast?”
He grinned and then he chuckled. When was the last time someone had kissed his nose? Hundreds of years ago. “Let’s see.” He lifted the cover of the plate
and watched as Piper’s smile widened.
“Pizza.”
“I noticed how much you loved it the other night. I hope this is fine.”
She turned to him and kissed his cheek. “I love pizza! It’s my favorite food ever!”
He smiled and stood. Then he took his chair and prepared to watch her eat.
She picked up a slice and paused. “Are you going to… drink blood?”
He shook his head. “I won’t be hungry for at least another day or so. Vampires don’t need to drink blood everyday unless we overexert ourselves in some way.”
“Think that will happen today? I see a lot of guards walking around now.” She tilted her head as she studied him and he watched as her mouth closed around the food. Maybe his choosing pizza had nothing to do with how much she liked it and everything to do with how much he enjoyed watching her eat it. She held it up as though it were some treasure and closed her lips around it gingerly. Then she licked her lips.
He adjusted himself in his chair and said, “I’m hoping everything remains calm during your visit.” So calm, in fact, that she wished to stay. He doubted anyone would cause trouble today, but he did worry about Ben. So long as Ben remained civil, Theo would do the same.
“Tell me about your parents,” she said.
Theo took a moment to think and said, “I was five or so when they died, but I still remember everything about them.” A certain moment in his memory came to mind. It wasn’t anything grand, however. It was just the memory of his parents moving about their room as they readied themselves for a ball. His mother fixed his father’s cravat. He’d placed a jewel around her neck and let his fingers linger until she swatted his hand away, smiling the entire time. “They were very high in the Evaness and they were in love.”
She smiled. “That must have been wonderful to witness.”
He nodded. “But then they were gone.” He was silent before saying. “I understand you didn’t grow up with your parents either?”
She shook her head. “And I have no memories of them. I don’t even know their names.” She picked up her water and began to drink with her eyes averted. He sensed this to be a sore subject for her. “Who told you?”
“Maurice,” he replied.
She frowned. “How does Maurice know?”
“Maurice handles all my Earth-related affairs. It’s protocol here that I know who is coming and going from my lands, though knowing you and Meg were friends of Kelly’s made me less cautious where you were concerned. Maurice had information on both you and Meg before your arrival, though I hadn’t cared to look… until after I met you.”
She leaned her elbows on the table and stared at him. “What else did my file say?’
“Not the identities of your parents.”
Something passed in her brown eyes and then she sat back against the chair and sighed.
“We’ll probably find out more once we go to Ucrary.”
“When would we leave?”
“Soon.” After the funeral, if he could arrange it. Berna would be burned on the same secret grounds as his parents, and he’d need to distance himself from Morwen for a time. A trip sounded like just the thing.
She started eating again and asked, “What’s blood like?”
“Yours? The sweetest wine I’ve ever tasted.”
She smiled. “But in general? Does it actually have a flavor?”
“You tell me? Have you ever tasted blood before?”
She thought about this and nodded. “I lost some teeth when I was small.” Then her eyes widened. “And this chick hit me in the face once. She had man hands. Slit my lip.”
Theo’s eyes widened. “When was this?”
Piper chuckled. “A very long time ago.”
“Did you retaliate?”
“Oh, yeah,” Piper said with pride.
“Why did she hit you?”
“Because her boyfriend liked me.” Piper rolled her eyes. “I didn’t even like the dude.”
“Oh, yes,” Theo said. “You liked Mr. Yeatman.”
She stilled and narrowed her eyes. “I didn’t tell you his name.”
“It’s in your file.”
She dropped the pizza on the table. “Mr. Yeatman is in my file? Is every guy I’ve been with in my file? How the hell did Maurice—”
Theo lifted his hand. “I mean… It’s in your file now. I had Maurice find the guy last night.”
Piper lifted a brow. “That was quick.” Then she narrowed her eyes. “Did you hurt him?”
Anger licked at him. “Would it upset you if I did?”
She kept her eyes narrowed and then shook her head. “He took advantage of my obvious daddy issues. Give him hell.”
He planned to do just that. There were benefits to being part of the Darkness. Mr. Yeatman would experience just that.
When she finished her meal, he escorted her toward the tower attached to his room.
Piper looked up the spiral stairs and declared, “No way am I making it in these shoes.”
In the next minute, she was off the ground, in his arms, and they were climbing the tower. She wrapped her arms around his neck and then stared at the man who was carrying her. She knew she wasn’t a light girl. She was athletically built and tall, but Theo held her as though he held nothing.
She looked up the stairs and saw how far they had to go. “You’re probably going to need blood after this.”
He chuckled. “Good thing I’m carrying a supply with me.”
She smiled at him and then rested her head on his shoulder. She dared to think that she felt loved in his arms. There had been so many nights in her life when she’d wanted someone to hold her, nights when she’d wanted someone to care for her but no one came. She couldn’t think of a single place in the world that felt better than where she was. She’d thought she was past the age of being cradled, but Theo’s arms proved her wrong.
She slipped one hand down his chest and rested it on his heart. They’d climbed a considerable amount since they’d began, and Theo’s heart beat as though he was standing still. What would it take to tire him out?
She could think of a few ways she wanted to try, but she put those thoughts away for later. Or at least, she kept them to herself.
“What are you smiling about?”
“Nothing,” she said too quickly.
He laughed. “I know what you’re thinking. Behave.”
“I’ll try.” But she wondered how she could with his muscular arms and solid chest pressed into her. She lifted her head and asked, “Where are we going?”
“It’s a surprise.”
They finally reached the top and Piper was amazed at the view. Windows lined the walls and Piper was able to see not only the stars but the lights of the village and beyond. The ground looked like another sky, black with a million stars dancing across it. “What are all those other areas of lights?” She pointed toward two different areas that lit up the night, peaking around hills and more mountains.
Theo’s breath brushed her ear as he stood behind her without touching her. “As far as you can see, that is Morwen.”
“Wow,” she whispered. “You own all of this?”
“Yes, and I am the people’s colester.”
“Kelly told me that.” She turned to him and in the shadow of the billions of stars found the outline of his face. “What does a colester do?”
He leaned an arm on the wall and said, “I make sure everyone is taken care of. The needs of both young and old are met, the children are safe, disputes are handled efficiently—”
“You handle disputes? Like a judge?”
“Rarely. Only if the matter is not handled by one of the smaller councilors.”
“Have you ever sentenced someone to death?” But then she remembered what was happening that day and gasped. He was burying his aunt in a matter of hours and she’d thought death an appropriate subject. “I’m so sorry.”
He was at her side in second. “It’s all right. We were having a no
rmal conversation that naturally led to the topic. There is no need to apologize. You were not being cruel.”
“But I hurt you.” She pressed her hands into his chest and felt the gallop of his heartbeat underneath her fingertips and wanted to strangle herself. “God, I’m supposed to be making you feel better.”
“No,” he cut her off. “We’re supposed to be taking things slow, learning about one another. That is all.”
“Yes, and now you know that I rarely think before I speak.”
He chuckled and his hands touched her hips. It was the first time he’d touched her since they’d come up to the tower. She’d been aware of that. She’d wanted his touch, but hadn’t wanted to beg for it. “I have not learned a single thing about you that I don’t already adore.”
She smiled up at him, wishing for more light. “Really?”
In response, he kissed her lips, just a brush really, but it was enough to make Piper think she could fly. Being with him made her feel light, as though she could unburden herself from her past and just… move on.
Her hands slipped around his head and drew him in.
He groaned against her mouth. His hand still anchored her hips to his. “Gods, Piper, you are so…
She waited and was pleased when he finished his words.
“Everything.”
Everything. Could she truly be that to someone? It was so hard to believe at times. Too hard, really.
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13
CHAPTER
THIRTEEN
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Theo stood with the waiting crowd and watched the archer shoot the flaming arrow through the air. It hit its target in the distance. His aunt, Berna, rested on a pyre higher in the mountains, and everyone watched as the flames licked at her lifeless form. There was no sound of wood cracking or smell of flesh from this distance, giving Berna privacy as she left this form and her ashes joined with Asea. Her higher placing gave her a position of honor. He preferred this instead of what he’d read about Earth, looking down on those who’d died. He rather look up and remember all the wonderful things that had made Berna who she was.